Chapter 35: The Concept of Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame

Xiao Yan slowly opened his pitch-black eyes, feeling the immense power now surging within him.

The Xuanhuang Flame was just the beginning. Xiao Yan believed that in the future, he could make his fire-attribute Dou Qi the most powerful flame under the heavens!

Yao Lao floated mid-air, circling around Xiao Yan. After ensuring nothing was amiss, he asked gravely, "Little one, do you know what happened to you?"

"Of course!" Xiao Yan nodded affirmatively.

Yao Lao's eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "What's going on exactly?"

"After listening to teacher's explanation, I had a great realization." Xiao Yan did not hide his extraordinary comprehension.

He was a genius, one that was especially defiant of the natural order.

"Alchemists borrow fire, whether it be beast fire or different kinds of heavenly flames. It's an expression of relying on external forces, and the Flame Mantra is no different. The Flame Mantra's greatest trait is that it upgrades itself by fusing with powerful flames. Compared to relying on external forces, cultivating and strengthening one's own fire attribute Dou Qi is also a worthwhile path."

"And just like that, you comprehended it?" Yao Lao was shocked.

If one wanted to enhance their Dou Qi attributes, changing to a higher-level technique was the simplest and seemingly the only path.

But Xiao Yan hadn't changed his technique, and what he had condensed was truly...

"You've grasped something almost identical to the twenty-third-ranked Xuanhuang Flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!" Yao Lao exclaimed.

Xiao Yan shook his head slightly, "Of course, it's not as simple as it seems. If I hadn't been stuck in the Dou Qi stage for years, becoming extremely familiar with tempering my body and refining my Dou Qi, I couldn't have succeeded in this heaven-defying feat."

Yao Lao hadn't expected that his initial actions to restore his soul power to its peak would inadvertently create a miracle.

"Teacher, the cultivation of the Flame Mantra has already changed in my hands. Instead of searching aimlessly for heavenly flames, why not create one ourselves?" Xiao Yan said earnestly.

"If we can collect enough beast fires, it wouldn't be impossible to achieve the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame, which ranks twenty-second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. If they say, 'When a heavenly flame appears, all fires submit,' then we shall gather ten thousand and one flames.

"As long as we continue accumulating, surpassing a heavenly flame is just a matter of time, much like how the Flame Mantra continues to evolve."

Yao Lao pondered for a moment before chuckling, "The young always like to dream. Don't think that just saying a few fancy words can defy fate. If it were so easy to create heavenly flames, they wouldn't be so precious."

Xiao Yan shrugged, "If the Flame Mantra were easy to cultivate, it wouldn't have fallen into my hands."

"Such sharp words." Yao Lao smiled wryly, "The Dou Qi continent has seen powerful factions attempt similar methods."

With a flick of his finger, a beam of white light shot towards Xiao Yan, transforming into a scroll.

"This is an ancient text I once stumbled upon. It describes an artificial flame called the Blood Demon Flame."

"In order to create this flame, one must gather the blood of nearly a thousand fire-attribute magical beasts. Then, fuse these variously energized bloods together and use the fire attribute within to form a flame. This flame, once formed, is called the 'Blood Demon Flame.'

"Of course, this flame has varying strengths, and what determines its strength is the completeness of the tiny humanoid figure within it."

After reading this description, Xiao Yan nodded slightly.

The Blood Demon Flame did indeed exist. The Cao family's witch, Cao Ying, had mastered a high-grade version of the Blood Demon Flame.

This flame was similar to a synthetic flame, though its method of creation was even more bizarre.

"If it were before, obtaining beast fires would have been a trivial matter for me..." Yao Lao sighed, "Now, with limited resources, I only have information about such artificial flames, but not the exact method to create them.

"What you can ultimately achieve will depend on your own abilities."

Xiao Yan smiled faintly. If the likes of the Old Demon and the Cao family of Zhongzhou could research a synthetic flame that surpassed the Green Lotus Core Flame of the Tagore Desert, then if he couldn't create the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame ranked twenty-second, he might as well change his name and give up his heaven-defying comprehension.

Yao Lao reassured, "Actually, you don't need to rush. I once learned that the Jia Nan Academy possesses a heavenly flame known as the 'Fallen Heart Flame,' ranked fourteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking! If you could obtain this flame, the Flame Mantra might evolve significantly."

"Right now, your priority should be to strengthen your power. You don't want to end up dead when you find the heavenly flame."

Not rush? Xiao Yan smirked slightly. If he didn't plan now, what would he do when he encountered the Hall of Souls in the future?

While Yao Lao had outstanding aptitude in alchemy, in other aspects...

He was like an upgraded version of Gu He.

Excellent in alchemy, but carefree when it came to changes in the world.

If he solely focused on the evolution of the Flame Mantra, he would be doomed when he encountered the Protector Wu of the Hall of Souls.

If it weren't for the fortunate acquisition of the Dou Saint's remains, allowing him to resurrect and his power to soar, even the Falling Star Pavilion would have been doomed.

More importantly, without adequate strength, the Xiao family would suffer heavy casualties, and his father would be imprisoned for years.

Not rush? How could he not?

His eyes landed on four medicine bottles as Yao Lao sighed, "To fail in refining a second-tier medicinal liquid—what a disgrace to my alchemy career."

Putting away the items, Yao Lao returned to the Bone Flame Ring, while Xiao Yan returned to the appraisal room.

Suspecting that he was likely a third-tier alchemist, both Ya Fei and Master Gu Ni became more respectful.

With a wave of his arm, four jade bottles appeared on the table. Yao Lao's raspy voice rang out again, "Foundation Elixir, capable of accelerating the cultivation of Dou Qi."

"It can speed up the cultivation of Dou Qi?" Upon hearing this, Ya Fei was moved.

Cultivating Dou Qi had always been a slow and steady process; this was common knowledge. Moreover, practitioners at this stage had extremely fragile internal meridians. If the medicinal effects were too potent, it could lead to catastrophic consequences.

"My elixir has no side effects. Its medicinal power is gentle and will not cause such outcomes; you can rest assured." Understanding what was on Ya Fei's mind, Yao Lao calmly explained.

"Sir, please wait a moment." Gu Ni picked up a white jade bottle, opened it, and sniffed its fragrance. His old eyes squinted, and his pupils flickered.

Tipping the bottle slightly, a small drop of azure liquid slowly rolled out and hovered above Gu Ni's palm.

*(End of this chapter)*